Year: 1998
Runtime: 103 mins
Language: English
Director: Predrag Antonijević
Budget: $10M
A battle-hardened mercenary serving in the French Foreign Legion is thrust into the brutal Bosnian conflict, fighting a war he no longer believes in while yearning for purpose. Confronted with horrific atrocities, he gradually awakens to his own humanity and the cost of violence.
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On assignment in Paris, Joshua Rose, a U.S. Department of State official on embassy duty, faces a nightmare when his wife Maria Rose and their son are killed in a bombing claimed by Islamic terrorists. In the immediate aftermath, he storms into a nearby mosque and shoots several worshippers. His friend Peter is forced to shoot one of the survivors when the man tries to kill him, and to avoid arrest they join the French Foreign Legion, with Joshua taking the alias “Guy.”
Years later, Guy and Peter are fighting for the Bosnian Serbs in the Bosnian War, stationed on a bridge that separates them from the Bosniaks in a town. Guy mans a sniper post overlooking the bridge and witnesses Peter’s death when Peter drops his guard at a checkpoint and a young girl throws a grenade at him. Guy, in turn, shoots a boy crossing the bridge in pursuit of his runaway goat.
Guy is then seen searching the Bosniak side of the town following a ceasefire along with Bosnian Serb soldier Goran. In one house they find an elderly Muslim woman who is bed-bound and shell-shocked and a dead woman. Guy also finds a sleeping baby hidden in a wardrobe, but does not inform Goran, who hacks a finger off an old Bosniak woman in order to steal her ring.
After they leave the house, helicopters attack the town. As Goran takes cover Guy stays out in the open and returns to the house, but finds that both the child and the old lady have been killed by falling rubble. Later, Guy and Goran prepare for a prisoner exchange with the Bosnian forces. When they arrive at the exchange point one of the young Serb prisoners being exchanged, Vera, is visibly pregnant because she was raped by Muslims. Guy and Goran take her in Goran’s car and they head towards her village.
In the car Goran berates Vera for being impregnated by a Bosniak even though Guy points out that she was almost certainly raped. Goran eventually stops the car in a tunnel. He throws Vera out of the car and begins to kick her as she lies on the ground. The blows force Vera into premature labor. As Goran prepares to murder the soon-to-be-born child, Guy kills Goran and then helps deliver the baby. When he shows Vera the child, she rejects it and attempts to shoot herself before Guy manages to stop her.
They arrive at her house where she is rejected by her family due to the shame felt by her father. They leave her house with Guy intending to head for the refugee camp where Vera and the baby would be looked after. Vera continues to reject the child and does not talk to Guy. After being told by Goran’s family that his corpse has been found and that he was last seen in the company of Guy and Vera, Vera’s father and brother head off in pursuit of them. They eventually catch up with them when they stop to get milk for the child. Guy is shot and injured, but Vera places herself between him and her father as he goes to kill him, and her father backs off and allows them to leave when Guy tells him that Goran intended to kill both Vera and the baby.
They briefly return to Vera’s village to find it has been attacked, and have to watch from a distance as her family and other villagers are rounded up and led away by Bosniak militiamen. Guy decides to head for the safety of the UN zone in Split on the Dalmatian Coast. On their way they stop and take refuge with an elderly Croat man and his Bosnian Serb wife. The old man tells Guy, “before the war, no difference [between Serbs and Croats], and now, stupid,” pointing to his head to show madness.
After moving on they reach what they think is a relatively safe area. Vera leaves Guy and the child to rest in an abandoned and half-sunk boat on the edge of a lake while she goes to find a bus that will take them to Split. Vera is captured along with other civilians by members of the Croatian Defense Council (HVO). The HVO takes their prisoners to the waterfront where Guy is hiding in the boat. The HVO then proceed to beat several to death with a sledgehammer, including Vera, as they stand in the water. The fighters shoot those that are left as Guy witnesses the slaughter from inside the boat but can do nothing without giving himself and the child away. He smothers the baby in order to keep her quiet as the HVO prepares to leave. She stops breathing but is soon resuscitated by Guy.
Guy eventually makes his way onto a bus that takes him and the baby to Split where he leaves Vera’s baby in an unattended Red Cross vehicle and writes the name “Vera” on a paper before walking to a pier, throwing his rifle and scope in the water and collapsing on a bench. A woman who was on the bus with him approaches him, carrying the girl and offering help. When she asks if the baby is his, Guy replies that she is and the woman promises to take them both to a hospital.
Last Updated: October 05, 2025 at 12:40
Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.
Hardened soldiers journey from cynicism to a fragile humanity amidst the chaos of war.Explore movies like 'Savior' where hardened soldiers undergo profound moral awakenings. If you liked the journey of a mercenary rediscovering his humanity in the Bosnian War, these films offer similar stories of redemption and ethical struggle set against the brutal backdrop of combat.
The narrative follows a character, often a mercenary or seasoned soldier, who begins detached or nihilistic. Through witnessing or participating in extreme violence and atrocities, they are forced to confront their own humanity, leading to a personal, often costly, redemption arc that is separate from the outcome of the war itself.
These films are grouped by their central character arc of moral redemption in a war zone. They share a dark, gritty tone, high emotional weight, and a focus on the internal conflict of an individual grappling with the ethics of survival and violence, rather than grand geopolitical strategy.
Characters flee through dangerous landscapes, carrying the weight of trauma and a fragile hope.Find movies with desperate survival treks similar to the one in 'Savior'. If you were captivated by the tense flight from the front lines through a war-torn country, these films capture that same feeling of perilous travel, constant threat, and the heavy burden of survival.
The plot is structured around a linear, perilous journey. Pacing is variable, alternating between tense, fast-paced escape sequences and slower, somber moments of travel and reflection. The narrative explores themes of survival, trauma, and the bonds formed under extreme duress, often leading to a bittersweet resolution where survival comes at a great personal cost.
These movies are connected by their core structure of a dangerous journey. They share a high-tension, bleak atmosphere, a variable pace that mirrors the rhythm of flight and rest, and a focus on the psychological and physical toll of survival against overwhelming odds.
Don't stop at just watching — explore Savior in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Savior is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.
Track the full timeline of Savior with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.
Discover the characters, locations, and core themes that shape Savior. Get insights into symbolic elements, setting significance, and deeper narrative meaning — ideal for thematic analysis and movie breakdowns.
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